Patent GB-377971-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in electric controlling and/or signalling installations more particularly for railways
IPC: B61L7/08
Filed: 1931-04-30
Abstract: 377,971. Railway signalling systems. GENERAL RAILWAY SIGNAL CO., Rochester, New York, U.S.A.-(Assignees of Preston, N. D. ; 287, Aberdeen Street, and Hitchcock, F. B. ; 184, Cravenwood Avenue, both in Rochester, New York, U.S.A.) April 30, 1931, No. 12795. Convention date, May 24, 1930. [Class 105.] The invention relates to installations in which, by means of electric code transmissions, the signals and points at a number of different stations are selectively operated from a central despatch office and in which return indication are sent to the office when any change occurs at a station, such as the entry of a train into a track section. According to the invention the office and the stations are each provided with a bank of electric circuit-controlling devices (chain of stepping relays) which are operated in synchronism and in a step-by-step manner by electric current impulses in a line extending from the office to the several stations and the stations are further each provided with a relay (station selecting relay SO) which is operated on the first impulse and which is retained in the operated position on all succeeding steps only at that station which corresponds to the code being transmitted ; this last feature is achieved by the provision at each station of a circuit-controlling device (polarized relay IS) responsive to variation in a characteristic of the impulses and acting in conjunction with the stepping devices to render unoperated the several station selecting relays in groups on each step. Figs. 1A and 1B show the office apparatus and Figs. 2 and 3 the apparatus at two of the stations so far as is necessary for an understanding of the invention. In the description the contacts of the various relays will be identified by prefixing the letters f, b, n or r to denote whether the contact is a front or back contact or in the case of a polarized relay a normal or reverse contact and adding the relay reference. For example, the back contact 20 of relay CLS is denoted by b20CLS. To operate the apparatus at a station the points and signal panel levers SML, SGL are set and the push SB is actuated to pick up the relay SR which then sticks over b20CLS. A code selecting relay CD is then picked up over back contact 125 of a cycle control relay CC, back contact 127 of a starting relay ST, wire 128 and f 129SR ; the relay CD then sticks over another front contact of relay SR. Contacts 52, 53 of the relay CD then apply voltage to such of the code lines 10, 11, 12 as are provided with jumpers 54, 55 ; contact 36 of relay CD energizes the'starting relay ST over wire 35, relay winding ST, wire 34 and back contact 33 of a slow-acting relay SL<0> which together with a quick-acting relay LR<0> is energized during the current pulses in the stepping andcontrol line wire which extends to all the stations. The relay ST closes its contact 37 to pick up the relay CC which sticks over its front contact 40, wires 41, 29, and back contact 30 of relay g which forms the last one of a chain of stepping relays a .. g. The control selecting relay CLS was energized, when relay CD closed contact 26, over this same back contact 30 of relay g, but a second stick circuit for relay SR now exists over f20CLS, wires 32, 28, 29, and b30g. The control-selecting relay CLS applies voltage to certain of the control lines 13, 14, 15 in accordance with the setting of the signal and points panel levers. The code comprising positive and negative impulses in the stepping line is started by the closure of contact 56 of relay CC which sets relays IR<1>, IR2, IR3 into action. A positive or negative pulse is given according as relay IR<1> or IR<2> is energized, the pulse being ended by the energization of relay IR<3>. Since the code line 10 has been made live at f52CD the relay CS is energized over back contacts 51 .. 46 of the relays f .. a and accordingly a polarized relay PS is normally energized with its contact 60 therefore at the right hand. The first pulse is given by the energization of relay IR<1> over f56CC, b58IR<3>, n60PS and a back contact of relay IR<2> ; relay IR<1> applies the positive battery BT<2> over f78IR<1>, b68IR<2>, wire 69, and through polarized line relay L<0> to the stepping line. The pulse is ended by the de-energization of relay IR<1> when b58IR<3> is opened on the energization of relay IR<3> over b75IR<2>, f74IR<1>, wire 72, and f33SL<0>. This last contact is closed when the slowacting relay SL<0> is energized over the contact of the relay L<0> and by reason of the slow release action remains up throughout the code cycle. The pulse is followed by a dead interval which is ended when the relay IR<3>, which was de-energized when contact 74 of relay IR<1> dropped, drops its contact 58 and again applies a pulse to the stepping line by energizing relay IR<1> or IR<2>. The relays a .. g are, as will be later described, sequentially picked on a pulse and held over a stick circuit during the dead interval. Accordingly for the second pulse the relay CS has been connected over f46a to the code line 11, which, not being provided with a jumper, is dead so that relay PS is reversely energized to close its contact 60 to the left whereby relay IR<2 >is energized and a negative pulse is given from battery BT<1> over b66IR<1> and f68IR<2>. The relay CS is thus sequentially conditioned in accordance with the state of the code lines 10, 11, 12 and control lines 13, 14, 15 which themselves are conditioned in accordance with the station selected and the operations to be performed. The code therefore on the first three pulses is defined by the station chosen for operation and on the second three pulses by the operations to be performed.. On the seventh pulse the relay g of the chain of stepping relays a .. g is picked up and opens its back contact 30 whereby the stick circuits for relays SR, CC and the circuit for relay CLS are broken and the apparatus now comes to its normal rest position since the dropping of relay CC stops the action of relays IR<1>, IR<2>, IR<3> and the slow release relay SL<0> in due time drops its contact 33. The sequential energization of the chain of relays a .. g is effected as follows. On the first pulse, before the contact of the slow relay SL<0> has lifted, the lower winding of relay a is energized over the contact of a relay HS<0> at normal, a front contact of quick relay LR<0>, a back contact of relay SL<0> and upper back contact of relay b ; the relay a then sticks by its upper winding when f33SL<0> closes to apply voltage to the line 72 for the remainder of the cycle. On the second pulse relay b is picked up by its lower winding from reverse contact of HS<0>, front contacts of relays LR<0> and SL<0>, lower front contact of relay a, and upper back contact of relay c to the line 72 ; the relay HS<0> was reversed in the first dead interval over a back contact of relay LR<0> and the second lower front contact of relay a. The picking up of the relay b both opens the stick circuit of the relay a and closes its own stick circuit by its upper contact. The later relays in the chain are energized similarly. At the stations along the line the first pulse of the code picks up a relay SO over back contact 101 of slow-acting relay SL and front contact 142 of quick-acting relay LR which latter relays are energized over a contact of the line relay L. The relay SO sticks over f147LR when the slow relay SL lifts. A chain of relays 1 .. 4 are sequentially energized in a manner similar to the relays a .. g at the despatch office. For instance, on the first pulse relay 1 is picked up over n83HS, f92LR, b93SL, lower winding of relay 1, and b100.2 and when slow relay SL lifts to remain up throughout the cycle to apply voltage to wire 102, 176 the relay 1 sticks over f101SL, wire 102, f104.1, upper winding relay of 1, and b100.2. On the second pulse relay 2 is picked over r83HS (HS having been reversed in the first dead interval of the code over b90LR and f87.1), f92LR, f93SL, f107.1, lower winding of relay 2, b108.3, and wire 102 which is alive over f101SL ; the relay 2 is subsequently stuck by its upper winding over f100.2, which breaksthe stick circuit of relay 1, and b108.3. Returning now to relay SO which was picked on the first pulse it will be seen that on the first dead interval of the code this relay will stick by its lower winding if the first impulse is of the requisite polarity to energize relay IS so that contact 162IS is connected to that bus wire which is made live by a jumper connection 150 and a front contact 153 of chain relay 1. The voltage is applied from + over back contact 168 of a relay TR described later, wire 167, and back contacts 155, 154 of relays 2, 3. Similarly in the second and third dead intervals the relay SO will only stick if the second and third pulses are such as to correspond with the particular jumper connection 151, 152 at the station under consideration. The relay SO during the second and third pulses sticks over its contact 145 and f147LR. On the fourth pulse the relay TR is picked over f172SO, wire 171, and f170.4 and then sticks over its contact 175, wire 176, 102 and f101SL till the code cycle is ended. The relay TR at front contact 168 maintains a stick circuit for relay SO until the cycle is ended. On the fourth dead interval the points-control relay SMR is normally or reversely energized in accordance with the polarity of the fourth pulse over polar contact 181 of relay IS, b183LR, f185SO, f187TR, b189.1, b190.2, b191.3, and f192.4. On the fifth pulse the chain relay 1 picks up over n83HS, f92LR, f93SL, wires 106, 116, f117.4, f119TR, wire 97, lower winding of relay 1, and b100.2. On the fifth dead interval the signal directional relay DR is normally or reversely energized in accordance with the fifth pulse polarity over polar contact 181IS, b183LR, f185SO, f187TR, and f189.1. The sixth pulse and interval similarly cause the signal-clearing relay SG to be actuated. At